FR2791010A1 - PULSE SPEED CHANGE CONTROL DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

Impulse gear shift control device, comprising a control lever movable in two perpendicular directions and one branch (18) of which cooperates with a slide (20) movable in translation in a housing (22) and carrying a guided plate (28) in translation on the slide (20) to hide or unmask two photoreceptors (36) exposed to the light flux emitted by a light source such as a light emitting diode mounted with the two photoreceptors (36) in the housing (22). The invention applies in particular to the control of speeds in a motor vehicle.

Description

l 2791010 Impulse shift control device

  The invention relates to an impulse control device for shifting, in particular for a motor vehicle, this device comprising a control lever which can be moved in two perpendicular directions to pass from a first position of automatic control into a second position of manual control and to pass from this second position into two other impulse control positions for switching to the higher speed and to switching to the lower speed respectively, switching means controlled by the lever being provided for producing electrical signals in various positions of the lever, these signals being applied to information processing means

  to control shifting.

  Return means are associated with the lever to urge it towards its second position from

  of its two impulse control positions.

  Such a device combines the advantages of an automatic gearbox and a manual gearbox, the driver of the vehicle benefiting from these two possibilities and

  going from one to the other as he wishes.

  It has already been proposed in application EP-A-846 897 by the same applicant, to use microswitches with two conduction states actuated by pushers moved by the lever, to produce speed change control signals. This known device is advantageous from the point of view of cost, compared to other solutions in which Hall effect sensors or the like are used, but the association of the microswitches with actuating pushers

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  does not allow to control the dispersions of dimensions, which leads to inaccuracies in the order

impulse speeds.

  The object of the invention is in particular to provide a simple, effective and economical solution to this problem. It proposes, for this purpose, an impulse speed shift control device of the aforementioned type, characterized in that the switching means comprise a light source associated with two photoreceptors and screen means, interposed between the source and the photoreceptors and movable by the lever between a first position where they allow the reception by the two photoreceptors of a light flux emitted by the source, a second position where they prevent the reception of this flux by the two photoreceptors and two other positions where they allow the reception of the flux by a photoreceptor and prohibit its

  reception by the other photoreceptor, and vice versa.

  The device according to the invention has the advantage of using contactless switching means of the optoelectronic type, which generate control signals as a result of the breaking or restoration of a light beam. This device has few moving parts, it is hardly subject to wear, it is easy to assemble and economical (the number of parts is reduced and the components are inexpensive) and it is practically insensitive to the environment. The dimension dispersions in this device are much lower than in the prior art and the precision of the control

is bigger.

  Advantageously, the light source is a light emitting diode emitting in the infrared

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  and the photoreceptors are phototransistors

operating in the infrared.

  One such transmitter and two associated receivers

are particularly inexpensive.

  They are also insensitive or very insensitive to ambient light, dust, humidity, water, temperature variations and

to the magnetic field.

  According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the screen means comprise a plate guided in translation on a slide parallel to the direction of movement of the lever between its first and its second position, the slide itself being guided in translation parallel to the direction of movement of the lever between its two pulse control positions, the aforementioned light source and photoreceptors being arranged on either side of the plate, and

of its translational trajectory.

  In this embodiment, the plate and the slide are displaceable in translation by the lever, a part of which comes to be applied on the plate in the second position of the lever and moves it in translation on the slide against the action. a return means, this part of the lever simultaneously engaging in a notch of the slide and remaining held there by any suitable means, for example by friction, by snap-fastening, etc. The lever thus being integral with the slide, can move the latter between two opposite positions corresponding to the two impulse control positions, the plate carried by the slide being moved with the latter to unmask a photoreceptor by exposing it to the emitted light flux

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  by the source, while leaving the other photoreceptor masked, and vice versa when the lever

  moves the slide in the opposite direction.

  According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the slide is associated with means forming a hard point, such as a ball or a pusher loaded by a spring and engaging in a notch of the slide when the latter is in a position intermediate located between the two positions of

impulse speed control.

  This single hard point is sufficient to prevent any accidental movement of the slide towards one

  either of the impulse control positions.

  According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the plate, the slide, their return means, the light source and the two associated photoreceptors, with means for supplying and connecting the source and photoreceptors, are mounted in a housing which is itself fixed on the mounting housing of the control lever. This box and the components it contains constitute a sub-assembly which can be prepared independently and which then suffices to attach to the mounting casing of the control lever by connecting it to an appropriate electrical circuit, which simplifies clearly mounting and installing a

device according to the invention.

  The invention will be better understood and other characteristics, details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly on reading the

  description which follows, given by way of example in

  reference to the appended drawings in which: s 2791010 - FIG. 1 schematically represents a speed grid of a control device according to the invention; - Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of this device, the lever being in position D; - Figure 3 is a partial schematic sectional view along line III-III of Figure 2; - Figure 4 shows schematically the location of the light source and photoreceptors; - Figure 5 is a partial schematic perspective view of the control device according to the invention, in position D; - Figure 6 is a partial schematic perspective view of this device in position M; - Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view, similar to Figure 2, but showing the device in position M; - Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7, but showing the device in a pulse control position for switching to the lower speed. The gearshift control device shown in the accompanying drawings comprises a control lever which is movable in a gear grid between a number of positions, such as those shown in FIG. 1, including the positions P (parking), R ( reverse), N (neutral) and D (drive or road), which are the classic control positions of an automatic gearbox, with in addition a position M (manual control) located at the level of position D and placed between two positions + and - (switch to

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  higher speed and shift to speed

lower, respectively).

  When the lever is brought from position D to position M, it is enough to move it towards the position + or the position - to control the passage to the higher speed or the passage to the lower speed, respectively, and thus to profit from the advantages a manual gearbox. The lever being in position M can be brought back to position D, in which the

  gearbox is controlled automatically.

  The device according to the invention comprises a housing 10 for fixing to a rigid part of the vehicle, this housing comprising means (not shown) for mounting a control lever 12 in rotation around two perpendicular axes substantially contained in the plane of the drawing in FIG. 2, this double articulation making it possible to move the lever successively in the positions P, R, N, D by rotation around a first axis, then in the position M by rotation around a second axis, then in the positions + and - by rotation

around the first axis.

  In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the lever 12 comprises a cylindrical rod 14 extending outside the casing 10 and intended to be manipulated by the driver of the vehicle, and connected by a U-shaped piece 16 forming a yoke aforementioned articulation axes. One 18 of the two parallel branches of the part 16 is intended to cooperate with a slide 20 which is guided in translation in a housing 22 fixed on a side wall of the casing 10, the slide 20 being movable in the direction defined by the positions + and - above, this direction being here parallel to that defined

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  by the positions P, R, N and D. A notch 24 is formed in the middle part of the slide 20 to receive the edge of the branch 18 of the part 16, the thickness of which is substantially equal to the corresponding dimension of the notch 24 so that the branch 18 engaged in the notch 24 remains held there by friction. Other means could be used for this purpose, for example latching or billing means, or means

magnetic.

  In the middle part of the slide 20 is formed a longitudinal slot 26 which is perpendicular to the notch 24 and which opens into it, for the guiding in translation of a plate 28 in a direction parallel to that defined by the positions M and D, the plate 28 being urged towards the branch 18 of the lever by a return spring 30 mounted in a cylindrical housing formed in a side wall of the housing 22. On the side of the branch 18 of the lever 12, the plate 28 comprises a middle branch 32 extending inside the notch 24 and two lateral branches 34 received in blind housings of the slide 20 and making it possible to define a position, represented in FIG. 2, of the plate 28 when its lateral branches 34 are fully engaged in the abovementioned blind housings of the slide. In this position, the plate 28 unmask two photoreceptors 36 which are then exposed to the light flux emitted by a light source 38. In the representation of FIG. 2, this source of

  light 38 is located above the drawing plane.

  In the representation of FIG. 4, the plate 28 is interposed between the source 38 and the

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  photoreceptors 36, it is moved perpendicular to the plane of the drawing (in the slot 26 of the slide 20) when the lever is brought from position D to position M, and it is moved in translation in the plane of the drawing in the direction indicated by the arrows to unmask one or the other of the photoreceptors 36 when the lever 12 is moved in one or the other of the

  impulse control positions + and -.

  The photoreceptors 36 and the light source 38 are mounted on a printed circuit board fixed to a side wall of the housing 22 and are connected to electrical supply means as well as to control means and means for processing the signals. emitted by photoreceptors 36. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the light source 38 is a light emitting diode emitting in the infrared, and the photoreceptors 36 are

  phototransistors operating in the infrared.

  In FIGS. 2 and 5, the lever 12 of the device according to the invention is in position D and its branch 18 is spaced from the slide

and of the plate 28.

  To be brought into position M from position D, the lever 12 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG. 2, which has the effect of engaging its branch 18 in the slot 24 of the slide 20 and to push the plate 28 against the action of its return spring 30, the edge of the branch 18 of the lever coming to bear on the central tooth 32 of the plate, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the plate 28 thus being moved by translation in the slot 26 of the slide 20, in the direction indicated by the arrow F.

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  In this position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the plate 28 masks the two photoreceptors 36 which no longer receive the light flux emitted by the

source 38.

  Then, the lever 12 can be brought into one or other of the + and - positions, by displacement for example in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7 to be brought into the position - represented in FIG. 8, which has the effect of moving the slide 20 in translation in the housing 22 in the same direction as the lever 12, and of moving the plate 28 which unmasks one of the photoreceptors 36,

  the other photoreceptor remaining masked.

  Conversely, if the lever 12 is moved into the + position in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7, the slide 20 is moved in translation in the housing 22 in the direction opposite to that shown in FIG. 8, and c is the other photoreceptor 36 which is unmasked by the wafer 28 and receives the light flux emitted by the

source 38.

  Return means, such as helical springs 40, are associated with the slide 20 in the housing 22 to constantly urge it towards its intermediate position shown in Figures 2 and 7 from one or other of its positions impulse speed control. These springs 40 for example bear at one end on a wall of the housing 22, their other end being received

  in a blind cylindrical housing of the slide 20.

  Thus, when the lever 12 is brought into one of the + and - positions, it is sufficient to release it so that it is automatically returned to the position M by means of the slide 20 and one of the return springs. 40. When the management of

2791010

  displacement of the lever defined by the positions +, M and - is substantially vertical, the weight of the lever in the position M is supported by one of the return springs 40 of the slide 20. This return spring can therefore be dimensioned for this purpose and have a stiffness greater than that of the other return spring 40, to at least partially compensate for the

weight of the lever.

  Hard point means are associated with the slide 20 and comprise for example a ball or a plunger 42 biased by a spring 44 towards a notch 46 of the slide. The plunger 42 and its spring 44 are housed and guided in a cylindrical well of the housing 22 and are oriented perpendicular to the direction of translation of the slider 20. In the intermediate position of the slider, which corresponds to the position M of the lever 12, the end of the pusher 42 is engaged in the notch 46 of the slide. To move the slide in one direction or the other from its intermediate position, it is necessary to exert on it a sufficient force to move aside the pusher 42 by compressing the spring 44. The notch 46 of the slide has the form of a V, the two branches of which constitute inclined ramps cooperating with the end of the pusher 42. When the lever 12 brought into one of the positions + and - is released, the slide 20 is returned to its intermediate position shown in FIG. 3 by one of the return springs 40 and the pusher 42 automatically engages in the notch 46, which has the effect of maintaining the slide in its intermediate position and of defining this intermediate position in a positive manner and

relatively precise.

  il 2791010 When the lever 12 is brought back from its position M to its position D, its branch 18 is released from the notch 24 of the slide, and the return spring brings the plate 28 back to its position shown in FIG. 2, where both photoreceptors 36 are unmasked and receive the emitted light flux

by source 38.

  In the device according to the invention, the pulse shift control signals are provided by the photoreceptors 36 when

  they are in turn unmasked by the plate 28.

  This makes it possible to precisely fix the stroke necessary for the emission of a speed change signal and to make it substantially independent of manufacturing and mounting tolerances, since the photoreceptors 36 are always masked and unmasked for the same positions of the wafer 28. This means that the tolerances on the strokes of the lever 12 and of the slide 20 have no influence on the transmission of the impulse gearshift control signals. In addition, if it is desired to modify this command, it suffices to change the plate 28 to replace it with another plate whose part serving for masking and unmasking the photoreceptors 36 has a different shape and / or dimensions.

  In this device, positions D, M, + and -

  are identified by different states of the photoreceptor 36 output signals: - position D = 1 - 1 - position M = 0 - 0 - position + = 0 - 1 - position - = 1 - 0 1 indicating a high level and 0 a low level of the output signal from a photoreceptor. The command of

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  speeds in positions P. R, N and D can be

  mechanical (cable) or electrical.

  In general, the device according to the invention has the following advantages compared to competing devices of the prior art: - a very small footprint, - lower wear (reduced number of moving parts), - a control sub-assembly formed by the housing, the slide, the plate, the light source, the photoreceptors and an associated printed circuit, - a possibility of automatic installation of the components, - an insensitivity to magnetic fields and surrounding agents, - a single slide with a reminder to compensate for the weight of the lever, and a single hard point system,

- a lower cost price.

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Claims (8)

  1 - Impulse gearshift control device, comprising a control lever (12) movable in two perpendicular directions to pass from a first position (D) of automatic control into a second position (M) of manual control and to pass from this second position in two other impulse control positions for switching to the higher speed and to switching to the lower speed respectively, switching means controlled by the lever (12) to produce electrical signals in various positions of the lever, and means for returning the lever to its second position from its two impulse control positions, characterized in that the switching means comprise a light source (38) associated with two photoreceptors (36) and means (28) forming a screen, interposed between the source (38) and the photoreceptors (36) and displaceable by the lever (12) between a first position on o they allow the reception by the two photoreceptors of a light flux emitted by the source (38), a second position o they prevent the reception of this flux by the two photoreceptors and two other positions o they allow the reception of the flux by a photoreceptor and prohibit its reception by   the other photoreceptor, and vice versa.   2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the light source (38) is a light emitting diode emitting in the infrared, and the photoreceptors (36) are   phototransistors operating in the infrared. 14 2791010   3 - Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the screen means comprise a plate (28) guided in translation on a slide (20) parallel to the direction of movement of the lever between its first position (D) and its second position (M), the slide being itself guided in translation parallel to the direction of movement of the lever between its two positions (+, -) of impulse control, said light source (38) and the photoreceptors (36) being arranged on either side of the plate (28)   and its translational trajectory.   4 - Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the plate (28) and the slide (20) are movable in translation by the lever (12), a part (18) is applied on the plate (28) in the second position (M) of the lever and moves it in translation on the slide against the action of a return means (30), this part (18) of the lever being engaged in a notch (24) of the slide and y   remaining maintained, for example by friction.   - Device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the slide (20) is associated with return means (40) urging it towards an intermediate position located between the two impulse control positions, these return means comprising two springs acting on the ends of the slide (20) in opposite directions. 2791010   6 - Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the means (40) for returning the slide in its intermediate position constitute the return means for the lever (12) in its second position (M), one of these means of reminder being sized to support the weight of the lever (12) in this second position (M).   7 - Device according to one of claims 3   6, characterized in that the slide (20) is associated with hard point means, such as a ball or a plunger (42) loaded by a spring (44) and engaging in a notch (46) of the slide   when the latter is in its intermediate position.   8 - Device according to one of claims 3   7, characterized in that the plate (28) is guided in translation in a slot or slot   transverse (26) of the slide (20).   9 - Device according to one of claims 3   8, characterized in that the plate (28), the slide (20), their return means (30, 40), the light source (38) and the photoreceptors (36) are contained in a fixed housing (22) on the housing (10) for mounting the lever (12).